Great Field Trips Out and About in God

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Great Field TripsOut and About in Gods
Wonderful World

• LCMS Michigan District
• All Professional Church Workers Conference
• carol.stathakis_at_gmail.com

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Psalm 10424

• O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom
  You have made them all. The earth is full of
  your possessions.
• 
  New King James

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Wisdom from the Principals

• A principal wants the students to get a
  well-rounded education using every possible
  means. This involves exposing the students to
  many experiences that open their eyes to the real
  world. Great field trips, collectively, allow
  students to use all their senses to take in the
  wonders.
• Thanks to great principals!

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More Wisdom from the Principals

• opportunity for kids to represent Christ and
  their Christian school
• great occasion for strengthening classroom
  community
• might include service events for the kids
• connection to classroom learning all year long
• fun break from the regular routine
• gives parents exposure to the class culture

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• (from the school handbook)
• Field trips
• are an important part of the curriculum,
  
• and field trip days are considered
• official school days
• should not exceed 5 per class per school
• year one should be a servant event
• and one may be a social
• should not exceed an annual total cost
• of 35 per student

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• Field trip drivers
• must have a (rear) seat belt for each
• child
• must submit drivers license number
• and current valid insurance
  information to the school office
• must submit to a background check
• through the ICHAT system
  (Internet Criminal History Access
  Tool)

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• Field trip vehicles
• must not stop at any location other than
  teacher approved destinations
• must not offer viewing of anything other
  G-rated material on screens
• must not carry any type of tobacco or
• alcohol while on school business

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Field Trip Master List

• A school field trip master list helps to ensure
  that many wonderful field trip experiences are
  provided for students as they grow through the
  years at your Lutheran School. Students will
  become experts about the great things in their
  area.

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Preschool Favorites

• Historic Trinity Lutheran Church (preschool
  puppets)
• Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve
• Deneweths Pumpkin Patch
• Wolcott Farm
• Cranbrook Planetarium (Big Birds Space
  Adventure)
• Joe Dumars Fieldhouse (Soccer Day)
• Westview Orchards
• American Gymnastics Center
• Shadbush Nature Center

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Kindergarten

• Fire Station
• October Fire Prevention Awareness
  Month
• Barnes Noble
• story time with childrens specialist
• tour of the store receiving room,
  etc.
• Lutheran High School North
• band demonstration
• 
  

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1st Grade

• Detroit Zoo
• Blakes Big Apple orchard
• Humane Society
• Barnum Bailey Circus
• Depot-to-depot train trip and picnic
• 
  

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2nd Grade

• Parade Company
• Greenfield Village
• Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum
• Belle Isle Dossin Great Lakes Museum

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3rd Grade

• Diamond Jack Riverboat Tours
• Andrews 1-Room Schoolhouse
• Seven Ponds Nature Center
• Webber Wildlife Taxidermy Museum

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4th Grade

• Wolcott Mill
• Concordia AA
• Michigan Science Center / Ann Arbor Hands-On
• Macomb Symphony youth concert at the
  Macomb Center for the Performing Arts

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5th Grade

• Detroit Art Institute
• Stony Creek Metropark Winter Survival
• Lansing State Capitol and
• Michigan Historical Museum
• Macomb County Jail
• Martha T. Berry Nursing Home

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6th Grade

• Outdoor Education at YMCA Storer Camp
• Nursing Home, Assisted Living, and
• Memory Loss Center
• Stony Creek Metropark
• Selfridge Air Base and Museum

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7th Grade

• Greenfield Village
• Ford Field Tour
• Chicago downtown overnight trip
• Eagle Village camp
• Creation Museum overnight trip

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8th Grade

• Washington D.C. class trip

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On-Campus Field Trips

• Thanks to our organist for organ lessons and a
  pipe chamber tour
• and to our facilities manager for a
  mechanical/electrical systems tour.

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Before the Trip

• Plan and teach meaningful related lessons.
• If possible, visit the site before the field
  trip.
• Request printed information for teachers.
• Secure parental permission well in advance.
• Prepare students for the experience.
• Provide parents with vehicle group lists.
• Provide drivers/chaperones with maps, site
  information, and itineraries.

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Before the Trip

• Explain behavioral expectations to students.
• In written form on hard copy and/or email,
  explain behavioral expectations to parents.
• Verify field trip with the venue the day before
  or the morning of your excursion.
• Leaves copies of permission slips and a list of
  car groups with your school office staff.

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On Field Trip Day

• Provide drivers and chaperones with copies of
  permission slips for all students in their care.
• Remind students and parents/chaperones of
  behavioral expectations en route, and on site.
• Pray with the group for safety, for a great
  learning experience, and for their Christian
  witness while out and about in Gods wonderful
  world.

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After the Trip

• Discuss the experience with your students.
• Plan and teach a lesson and/or activity to
  reinforce the learning of the field trip.
• Write thank-you notes to your contact person,
  docent, or guide/instructor at the venue.
• Write thank you notes to drivers/chaperones.
• Write and draw about the trip. Share in pairs or
  with the class.

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Free Field Trips !!!

• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library
  Grand
• Rapids
• Detroit Institute of Arts (bus transportation
  free as well)
• Webber Wildlife Museum Clinton Township
• Detroit Historical Museum Detroit
• Matthaei Botanical Gardens Ann Arbor (nominal
  parking
• fee

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More Free Field Trips!!!

• Teddy Bear and Factory Tour and Toy Museum,
  Chelsea
• Jiffy Mix Factory Tour, Chelsea
• Morley Candy Company, Clinton Township
• Belle Isle Nature Zoo, Conservatory, Aquarium
  Detroit
• free with State of MI Recreation
  Passport

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Gifted and Talented

• benefit of a gifted program in a Lutheran School
  high level processors dreaming and thinking
  together with like-minded kids
• theme units 4 to 6 weeks, each culminating in a
  final project or a field trip
• unique field trip opportunities available only to
  small groups

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Theme unit 1 Ancient Greece

• Greek language lesson with the pastor
• compare/contrast map of ancient Greece and
  modern-day Greece with recognition of Biblical
  cities and sites
• toga party with Greek food sampling
• dramatization of Greek myths
• production of a travelogue on the mainland and
  islands of Greece
• New Testament field trip to Historic Trinity
  Lutheran Church

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Theme unit 2 Aviation

• principles of flight modeling and diagramming
• flight navigation with latitude and longitude
  coordinates
• aviation phonetic alphabet
• mock airline corporate organization with auction
  for purchase of structural materials
• paper aircraft design and flight contest, judged
  by church/school Fed Ex pilots
• field trip to Selfridge Military Air Museum

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Theme unit 3 Baseball

• baseball card statistics
• biographies of sports figures and discussion
  about heroes and their qualities
• baseball dissection and reproduction using
  alternate materials
• umpire lesson and practice with former NCAA
  baseball ump
• letters to MLB teams and requests for franchise
  information and complimentary memorabilia
• field trip to Comerica Park

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Theme unit 4 Birds

• bird species classification
• birdhouses and feeders constructed from
  recyclables
• birdseed volume and consumption charting over
  many days
• owl pellet dissection and meal identification
• migration patterns
• field trip to Stony Creek Metropark

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Theme unit 5 Dogs

• pet pros and cons debate Dogs vs. Cats
• vinegar Sniff and Search on the lawn
• studies of Iditarod, WWII Army dogs, Hollywood
  dog training, American Kennel Club, Search
  Rescue
• Pavlovs experiment of conditioned response using
  puppy chow made in class
• veterinarian and dog visit at school
• field trip to animal hospital

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Theme unit 6 Flowers and Fruits

• garden architecture blueprints
• fruit and flower botany study
• flower research and species identification
• apple varieties testing, tasting, and ranking of
  crunchiness, color, fleshiness, juiciness, etc.
• applesauce made in class from apples purchased
  during visit to fruit market
• field trip to Belle Isle Conservatory

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Theme unit 7 Nutrition

• weekly meal plan creation with all food group
  requirements
• study of product ingredient labels
• butter churning
• continuum of fat in dairy products and sugar in
  cereals
• blind taste test, including identification of
  sweet, salty, sour, and bitter
• field trip to local grocery or market

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Theme unit 8 Pioneers

• cooperative work group study and simulation of
  the Oregon Trail journey
• history and meaning of quilt patterns and
  quilting bees
• trail maps and wagon train diaries
• square dance lesson and barn dance
• sampling of old farm tools and equipment
• field trip to one-room schoolhouse

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Theme unit 9 Pizza

• pizza parlor menu creation
• Italian language lessons live, CD instruction,
  and English/Italian dictionary
• Neapolitan-style pizza baking and serving
• wait staff practice for short-term memory and
  organization
• restaurant management tutorial
• field trip to pizza parlor

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Theme unit 10 Rainforest

• charting compare/contrast average annual rainfall
  of various global habitats
• sampling of rainforest foods
• papier-mâché rainforest birds
• letters to the president on the topic Saving the
  Rainforest
• chewing gum manufacturing process from raw chicle
  to sweet chewy gum novelties
• field trip to Rain Forest Cafe

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• Theme unit Architecture
• Field Trip downtown walking architecture tour
• Theme unit Drama
• Field Trip matinee, catwalk and backstage
  tour
• Theme unit Weather
• Field trip television news/weather station

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• Theme unit Electricity
• Field trip Christian Radio station
• Theme unit Garbage and Recycling
• Field trip Landfill and compost garden
• Theme unit Elections
• Field trip County party headquarters

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Trusty Trip Tips from Teachers

• Watch the school calendar!
• If kids misbehave, let them worry about
  the consequence until the next day.
• Dont assume kids and parents will know
  your expectations unless you tell them.
• Count heads!

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• Lifes a field trip.
• Go with God!